Vol-2: 120. 【Journal】Hidden Society

120. [Journal]Hidden Society

Hidden Society, Gaia.

This is Li Aozi. This is the first time I've started recording something like this.

I'm currently at the abandoned settlement in Triangle Town, with some lights on and coffee brewed. The damage from Aether has been too severe, and I just want to rest properly.

Honestly, I never thought that, relying on my foresight advantage all this time, I would actually make a mistake for the first time.

I can't understand why such a peculiar existence as the Hidden Society isn't recorded on Qiqiao Network's official website. There are no player sightings, not even rumors.

True to its name, 'Hidden.'

I plan to record this incident. Although no decent person keeps a diary, I'm treating this as a journal to jot down some strange occurrences.

Ever since I transmigrated, with the advantage of leading in versions, I've acquired the best weapons and seized important resources. Most talents have gathered around me. Without this intel and resources, based solely on my abilities, I wouldn't have achieved what I have today—it's unimaginable. I even feel like I came back specifically with these memories in tow.

Sometimes, I feel like I shouldn't just limit myself to the path of the [Starfall Master]'s main god, but instead, aim for the Domination system's main god… But no one knows how a god of an entire system can be achieved.

There are many things I don't know. I am not omniscient; my intelligence is actually limited. To prevent being corrupted by society, I never intended to raise my intelligence too high from the start.

(In the previous life's game, once transformed by society, it was equivalent to account deletion. I dare not take that risk in reality. Besides, if it's knowledge, with high enough [Charisma], knowledge will naturally come to me, and intelligent characters will be drawn to me. With [Single-Minded] in hand, I don't need to waste effort on an invisible time bomb.)

When it comes to society, I can be considered an expert. In the previous game, with the help of Narrative-level civilizations, I accumulated participation in hunting nine societies, the most among players. They were:

[Mute Society]—Naraka Dian (Lv.199)

[Mechanical Society]—Margegon (Lv.300)

[Color Domain Society]—Liu Qi Weiku (Lv.270)

[North Shore Society]—Havels (Lv.298)

[Eternal Society]—Bodolton (Lv.230)

[Phoenix Jade Society]—Finijiedi (Lv.200)

[Purple Moon Society]—Atenia (Lv.180)

[Dream Drug Society]—Fekonmi (Lv.160)

[Abyssal Flame Society]—Satangima (Lv.300)

Writing this down, I can feel it—yes, societies cannot be defeated by individuals; only civilizations can stand against them.

At first glance, their levels don't seem high, but in reality, their actual combat power is level × (number of Chairmen + Senators + Jury Members + Citizens).

Yes, multiplication.

Societies can do many horrifying things. You can temporarily repel or drive them away, but there's only one way to kill them—kill all citizens, jury members, senators, and chairmen, from bottom to top!

It's the most insane slaughter because once a society switches to combat mode, all citizens in a level 200 society will be raised to level 200. Then it's a mess; you're facing a geometrically growing moving catastrophe that individual strong people can't resist.

But do you know how we hunted societies?

—Trap two opposing societies together, let them tear each other apart, but prevent them from devouring one another, or else we're doomed.

I'm very good at this, especially the process of 'luring into a trap.' I've always had great cooperation with those Narrative-level civilizations in this field, even feeling like I was born to hunt societies.

Hmm, saying this might sound a bit disgusting—I feel very comfortable, happy, and delighted when I see societies scream, wail, and die in pain.

Due to working with Narrative-level civilizations, I once thought societies weren't that terrifying. The Narrative-level would precisely exile the victor when one society died, letting them fight for nothing. How satisfying, like dogs biting each other, letting those beastly idiots kill each other.

However, the Hidden Society shattered my naive fantasies. It's absolutely the most bizarre existence I've ever encountered.

Let me explain:

Societies can be thought of as evolved from civilizations, the ultimate entities in all human domains, even considered as living civilizations with self-awareness.

In the interstellar world, societies are referred to as 'it' because they are seen as living civilizations and beasts that feed on civilizations.

For societies, citizens are hunting organs or cells.

Yes, cells.

Cells are equal to each other, and societies use this fact to corrupt highly intelligent or rebellious superhumans.

But they never talk about what happens to those cells.

—Serve the main body, even to the point of death.

Those who think that mastering power means mastering everything will find that their power is nothing in the face of society. No matter how strong you are, you can't beat a society that's even just dozens of levels (if such a low-level society exists).

According to the official formula, a level 100 society can elevate its level to one thousand or even ten thousand (depending on the number of its citizens and the strength of its chairman).

Moreover, even if it doesn't fully explode, its lifespan is endless. Can you outlast it?

What confuses me most about the Hidden Society is this: if its citizens are so powerful and possess deadly toxins (especially the toxins—without that Aether Blood, I could have killed that White Knight even without gravity), why isn't it documented on Qiqiao Network?

At the very least, shouldn't there be some player eyewitness accounts?

So far, it seems that the Hidden Society uses a certain Aether substance as a medium to transform humans into professional citizens, granting them extraordinary abilities and breaking down reality from within, with the ultimate goal of consuming civilization.

The Hidden Society itself is referred to as 'Gaia' or 'Hidden Mother,' which seems to be its name. It sounds strange—Gaia… this isn't a name I've encountered in any language I know, not from Azure Star or the Federation language from my past life.

In the entire universe, the Hidden Society might be an extremely dangerous cosmic predator. It's definitely not from the Star Abyss; I'm sure of it.

The stronger one is, the greater the negative effects after diving into the Star Abyss. The Hidden Society wouldn't take the risk of surfacing here.

Of course, there's another possibility: it currently resides in the sixth layer of the Star Abyss—Origin Abyss, so there's no need to surface. What's scattered outside are just some of its citizens.

That's the only place players and the official authorities are forbidden to enter.

Let me think about the other parts.

Speaking of which, I got some information from Xia Jianjing. She mentioned that her mentor accidentally inhaled natural Aether early in his career, causing his entire body to become obscured, turning him into a cyborg wandering the outer world for two centuries.

Unfortunately, he wasn't C3 Luka-type Cosmic Human.

The Hidden Society only accepts C3 Luka-type Cosmic Humans as citizens, but according to Xia Jianjing's mentor, being human isn't enough; one must have the qualifications required for a professional's actual growth—'quality.'

There's a certain link between professionals and the Hidden Society. The Hidden grants them powers and, at suitable times, provides 'guidance' to help them develop their abilities.

Xia Jianjing told me that professionals of the Hidden Society are directly influenced by Gaia's will. As the concentration of Aether Blood in a professional increases, Gaia continually grants them knowledge and extraordinary abilities.

Fortunately, citizens of the Hidden Society also follow the Reforging strength classification system—Reforging. Finally, something I recognize; thank goodness.

All society's citizens need 'Reforging' to enhance their physical strength in the material world. Each reforging greatly improves their power.

From the first reforging to the final, there are ten in total. The final reforging is considered equivalent to an Omega-level powerhouse, with society claiming to have at least 2,000 final reforging-level citizens—what a joke. The entire universe probably doesn't have more than ten thousand Omega-level beings, of whom ten percent are too old to fight, and seventy percent have to dive into the Star Abyss to avoid being targeted by societies.

The remaining less than a thousand are new, fresh members of civilizations at Omega level.

If societies truly had that many ten-times reforged citizens, the universe would be doomed.

So I estimate the real number of final reforging citizens is at most ten, maybe not even five, because advancing within society is much harder than on the Star Abyss side of civilization.

Xia Jianjing mentioned that professionals incorporated into the Hidden Society's system will have their influence rapidly fade once they die; mortals won't remember any deceased professionals, even their own kin and friends.

That's great; I'm really looking forward to taking down Youhelai.

Every time I think about the Hidden Society, I feel blocked, like there's natural gas stuck in my chest, and the slightest spark will make me explode.

I love babies as much as I hate the Hidden Society—so strange. I just learned about this thing, yet I feel like I've harbored a grudge for a long time.

Sometimes, I start to suspect that my memories from my previous life have been tampered with. I even feel like my transmigration was planned, manipulated from behind the scenes.

This sounds overly conspiratorial, but I can sense it—not just since the Hidden began, but in many areas that don't match my recollections.

For example, Nomi.

In the original story, Nomi was just a minor character who could serve as a temporary ally. No one ever dug up her true identity.

And Alexia—after defeating the Duke, Beccaria System was supposed to break down and backfire, and she should've become mortal last week.

But she didn't. She still lifts buses and judges criminals with the judicial system.

Also, the mimics—they didn't have a fear of fire in the previous life; we just killed them outright. They were weak but caused significant harm.

And Du Zexin… he's changed a lot, and as a long-term NPC, his plot and personality should have been fully explored, with no room for twists.

So what was he confiding in me?

All this feels eerie. I even think that everything I experienced in my previous life was just a game, and this world now is the real one.

There was no Hidden in the game, but it exists in reality. There was no Grinna Waterspiral, the high-level dragon merchant, in the game, but she's here in reality. I could blow up planets in the game, but in reality, I'm just a regular small streamer...

Enough, enough.

Everything I have now isn't fake.

But how do I explain my ability to communicate with players and the changes in the real world caused by me?

I'm a little worried. I fear someone's been quietly pushing things from behind the scenes, or, as Du Zexin said, I'm simply afraid of everything beyond my comprehension—afraid of what I can't control.

But if there's a mastermind, what would they want?

I'm not the best professional player, nor am I the most famous streamer. I might be in the first tier, but I'm still just an ordinary person.

If my transmigration was driven by some force, I really don't know what makes me special.

What do they want me to do?

I don't know.

If I had to say something special… it's probably my body's name.

This 'Li Aozi'—I mean the pronunciation is a bit awkward, not even easy for Azure Star people.

So much so that everyone who calls me by name gets it wrong.

And ninety-nine percent of the time, they get it wrong like this:

—Liozi.